Pocket Hole Jig System

ABSTRACT

A pocket hole jig tool system includes a base on which a workpiece is supported. A drill guide support is slidably mounted to the base. Drill guide bushings are movably mounted relative to the drill guide support for clampingly engaging the workpiece and for guiding a drill for engaging the workpiece. A stop collar assembly is adjustably mounted relative to the drill guide bushings to automatically ensure a proper pocket hole location and depth for the workpiece inserted in the tool system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/751,916 filed on May 22, 2007 and a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/751,937 filed on May 22, 2007 both of whichclaim the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/809,793, filedon May 31, 2006. The entire disclosures of each of the aboveapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a pocket hole jig tool system, andmore particularly to an automatically adjusting pocket hole jig toolsystem.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

One way of joining two pieces of wood is with pocket holes and screws.This type of joint has been around for centuries. A screw hole isdrilled in one board at an angle and a “pocket” is formed for the headof the screw to fit into. The pockets used to be formed by chisels, andthe hole used to be drilled with a brace and a bit. Today, machines canform both a pocket and a through hole much more quickly. This attachmentmethod is illustrated in FIG. 29. In FIG. 29, the Part A is fastened tothe Part B by a screw 2 which is inserted through a pre-drilled pocket 4that is formed in Part A. It is important for the strength of the jointfor the screw 2 to exit Part A at approximately halfway through thethickness of the material.

The present disclosure provides a jig that is used with a power handdrill that automatically sets itself up to make a pocket hole. Thismakes it very easy and fast for the user to make this joint. The usercan also concentrate his thinking on the finished project instead ofconcentrating on having to set up the tool. In fact, the user does noteven have to know that the thickness of the wood he is using; the jigadapts automatically to the wood's thickness.

It is also important for the pocket to be drilled to the correct height.If the height is too small, the screw will stick through the surface ofPart B. If the height is too big, the joint will not be as strong as itshould be. The correct pocket height will be different for differentthickness of wood and different screw lengths.

There are several pocket hole jigs on the market today that are usedwith a drill. These use drill guide bushings that are used to guide astepped drill. The drill guide bushing is at an appropriate angle fordrilling the pocket hole. A stop collar on the drill bit controls thepocket height. Some jigs have the guide bushing slidably attached to abase. Because of the angle of the guide bushing, raising the guidebushing assembly moves the exit location of the screw in Part A furtheraway from the surface of the wood that is touching the guide bushingassembly. The user needs to know how far up to slide the guide bushingassembly for the thickness of wood that he is using. The user then needsto adjust the clamp pad for the thickness of wood. This is a trial anderror method where the user adjusts the clamp stop, tries to clamp thewood and tightens or loosens the clamp stop accordingly. This isrepeated until the appropriate clamping force is achieved. The user alsoneeds to know the appropriate location the stop collar needs to be seton the drill bit that corresponds with the thickness of wood being used,and the user needs to set the stop collar accordingly. Once the hole isdrilled, the user needs to look on a chart to determine the correctscrew length to use that corresponds with the thickness of wood beingused. Not only does the jig of the present disclosure automaticallyadjust for different width wood pieces, the jig is also provided with agauge that points to the correct screw length for the wood thickness.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable pocket hole jig mounted to abase according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pocket hole jig removed from thebase;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the table mounted base for mounting thepocket hole jig;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the stationary assembly of the pockethole jig according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stationary assembly attached to thetable-mounted base according to the principles of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sliding clamp assembly according tothe principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sliding clamp assembly added to thestationary assembly having a work piece inserted therein according tothe principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the drill guide assembly according tothe principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the drill guide assembly slidablyattached to the sliding clamp assembly according to the principles ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a side plan view of a portion of the pocket hole jig with adrill guide assembly slid upward for receiving a work piece therein;

FIG. 11 is a side plan view of a portion of the pocket hole jig shown inFIG. 10 with the drill guide assembly slide down until it registersagainst a work piece;

FIG. 11A is a geometric diagram illustrating the geometry of the drillguide angle relative to the drill guide assembly slide angle accordingto the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the clamping lever assembly accordingto the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the clamping lever assembly andillustrating the indexing tabs of the clamping lever assembly and knob;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the attachment of the clampinglever assembly to the sliding clamp assembly;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 14 with the knob rotatedto create a clamping force;

FIG. 16 is a side plan view of the components of the pocket hole jig ofFIG. 14 with the clamping lever in the activated position;

FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16 with the clamping lever in thereleased position;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a collar stop assembly for use with thepocket hole jig of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of the collarstop assembly on the pocket hole jig of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a side plan view illustrating the assembly of the collar stopassembly on the pocket hole jig according to the principles of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a height track assembly for use withthe pocket hole jig according to the principles of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 22 is a rear perspective view of the pocket hole jig illustratingthe assembly of the height track assembly according to the principles ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a front plan view of the pocket hole jig illustrating theheight track assembly positioned for a narrow work piece;

FIG. 24 is a front plan view of the pocket hole jig with the heighttrack assembly positioned for a thicker work piece;

FIG. 25 is a close-up view of the pointer and scale of a gauge providedfor indicating the required screw size to the user;

FIG. 26 is a similar view to FIG. 25, with the pointer located at adifferent position along the gauge for a thicker work piece;

FIG. 27 is a plan view of a rapid load bit changer for use with theelectric drill and pocket hole jig of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a plan view of an exemplary quick connect drill bit for usewith the pocket hole jig and drill of the present disclosure;

FIG. 29 is an illustration of the connection of two parts by using apocket hole and screw as is known in the prior art;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of an alternative portable pocket hole jigaccording to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of the pocket hole jig shown in FIG.30;

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the drill guide support and guideblock according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of the guide block and drill guidebushings according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 34 is a partial cut-away perspective view of the guide block anddrill guide bushings according to the principles of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of the guide block according to theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of a handle shaft assembly according tothe principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 37 is an end view of the handle shaft assembly;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of the guide block and the drill guidebushings shown in a separated position according to the principles ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of a cam follower of the drill guidebushing locking mechanism;

FIG. 40 is a second perspective view of the cam follower;

FIG. 41 is a cross-sectional view of the cam follower installed in alock knob according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 42-42 of FIG. 41illustrating the cam engagement between the cam follower and the lockknob;

FIG. 43 is an end view of the lock knob illustrating the cam surfacetherein;

FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view of the drill guide bushing lockingmechanism;

FIG. 45 is a perspective end view of the drill guide bushing lockingmechanism;

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of the cam follower mounted to the supportshaft;

FIG. 47 is a perspective view of the clamping handle mounted to thestationary base;

FIG. 48 is a side view of the drill collar stop assembly according tothe principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the drill collar stop assembly of FIG.48;

FIG. 50 is a side view of a cam arm of the drill collar stop assembly;

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of the cam arm of FIG. 50;

FIG. 52 is a side view of a pocket hole drill according to theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 52A is a perspective view of a drill collar according to theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 53 is a partial cross-sectional view of the base illustrating thecollar stop calibration feature incorporated therein;

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of an alternative pocket hole jig toolsystem according to the principles of the present disclosure with drillstorage incorporated into the base and into the drill guide support;

FIG. 55 is a partial cut-away perspective view of the drill storagefeatures incorporated into the drill guide support;

FIG. 56 is a perspective view from an opposite side of the alternativepocket hole jig tool system shown in FIG. 54 with collar stopcalibration features incorporated into the drill guide support;

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of drill storage features incorporatedinto the drill guide support.

FIG. 58 is a cross-sectional view of the guide block according to analternative embodiment; and

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of the guide block shown in FIG. 58.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

With reference to FIG. 1, the pocket hole jig 10 of the presentdisclosure will now be described. The pocket hole jig 10 includes theportable component of the pocket hole jig assembly 12 (FIG. 2) which ismounted to a base 14 (FIG. 3). For simplicity of description, theportable component of the pocket hole jig 12 will now be described withreference to FIG. 2. The portable component of the pocket hole jig 12includes a stationary assembly 16 having a sliding clamp assembly 18mounted thereto. A drill guide assembly 20 is mounted to the slidingclamp assembly 18 and a collar stop assembly 22 is mounted to the drillguide assembly 20. A clamping lever assembly 24 is also mounted adjacentto the sliding clamp assembly 18. A height track assembly 26 is mountedbeneath the sliding clamp assembly 18 and is engaged by the collar stopassembly 22. A clamp 28 is mounted to the base 14 for releasablymounting the portable component of the pocket hole jig 12 to the base14. A drill bit 29 is used to drill a pocket hole, as will be describedherein.

With reference to FIG. 3, the base 14 will now be described in greaterdetail. The base 14 includes a base plate 30 which can include screwholes 32 for permanently mounting the base 14 to a table or worksurface. Alternatively, clamps can be used to temporarily mount the base14 to a work table. By way of example, regions 34 of the base plate 30can be utilized for clamping the base 14 to the work table. A mountblock 36 is mounted to the base plate 30 and includes a clamp surface 38having a stop edge 40 against which the portable component of the pockethole jig 12 can be mounted. The clamp 28 is mounted to the mount block36 for securing the portable component of the pocket hole jig 12 to thebase 14. The clamp 28 is preferably spring biased to the engagedposition and can be easily released from engagement with the portablecomponent 12. The clamp 12 includes a rubber stop 42 for engaging theportable component 12.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the stationary assembly 16 of thepocket hole jig will now be described. The stationary assembly 16includes a support portion 44 having a side support surface 46 and anend support surface 48 for supporting a work piece there against. Aclamp flange 50 extends from the support portion 44 and can bereleasably engaged by the clamp 28 of base 14 for securing thestationary assembly 16 to the mount block 36 of base 14. As illustrated,the clamp flange 50 includes an upwardly extending lip 52 which isengaged by the rubber stopper 42 of clamp 28. A pair of slide rods 54extend from the support portion 44 on opposite sides of a threaded rod56. FIG. 5 shows the stationary assembly 16 mounted to base 14 via theclamp 28.

With reference to FIG. 6, the sliding clamp assembly 18 will now bedescribed. The sliding clamp assembly 18 includes a slide block 60 whichis provided with a pair of guide holes 62 and a rod hole 64 disposedbetween the guide holes 62. A pair of height track bridges 66 extendfrom opposite sides of a bottom portion of the slide block 60. A pair ofguide rods 68 extend angularly from the slide block 60.

With reference to FIG. 7, the sliding clamp assembly 18 is shown addedto the stationary assembly 16. The guide rods 54 are inserted throughthe guide holes 62 and the threaded rod 66 is inserted through the rodhole 64 of the slide block 60. A work piece W is shown supported by thestationary assembly 16 with the end of the work piece being disposedagainst the end support surface 48 and the side of the work piece Wbeing disposed against the side support surface 46.

With reference to FIG. 8, the drill guide assembly 20 will now bedescribed. The drill guide assembly 20 includes a pair of guide blocks70 a, 70 b each mounted on opposite ends of a transverse connectingblock 72. Each of the guide blocks 70 a, 70 b include a first guide hole74 and a second guide hole 76. Each of the guide blocks 70 a, 70 bincludes an adjustment knob 78. A height gauge 80 is provided with anelongated slot 82 and is mounted to the guide block 70 a. A pair ofdrill guide bushings 84 are mounted to the connecting block 72. Thedrill guide bushings 84 each include a drill hole 85 extendingtherethrough for receiving a drill bit 29.

With reference to FIG. 9, the drill guide assembly 20 is shown mountedto the sliding clamp assembly 18. The guide rods 68 are shown receivedin the guide holes 74 provided in the guide blocks 70 a, 70 b. Theadjustment knobs 78 include threaded shafts that are received inthreaded holes of guide blocks 70 a, 70 b and are provided for fixingthe position of the drill guide assembly 20 relative to the guide rods68 by engagement with the guide rods 68. As shown in FIG. 9, the drillguide bushings 84 are disposed against the work piece W.

With reference to FIG. 10, the stationary assembly 16, sliding clampassembly 18, and drill guide assembly 20 are shown in the assembledcondition with a work piece W being loaded onto the stationary assembly16 and the drill guide assembly 20 in a retracted, unloaded position.With reference to FIG. 11, the drill guide assembly 20 is shown in theloaded position with the drill guide bushings 84 disposed against thework piece W. After the drill guide 20 is slid against the work piece W,the adjustment knobs 78 are tightened to keep the drill guide assembly20 in the proper position along guide rods 68. The tightening of theadjustment knobs 78 ensures that the drill guide assembly remains inplace for this thickness of work piece, which is especially importantfor doing runs of multiple parts of the same thickness of work pieces W.As shown in FIGS. 11 and 11A, the drill guide assembly slide angle A1 isdesigned relative to the drill guide angle A2 such that the jig will nowautomatically be set so that the screw will exit the work pieceapproximately halfway through the thickness of the work piece W,regardless of the thickness of the work piece W. Unlike current pockethole jigs, the user does not need to know how high to position a drillguide assembly as it happens automatically with the pocket hole jig 10.The relationship between the drill guide angle A2 and the drill guideassembly slide angle A1 is provided wherein a rise-to-run ratio of theangle A2 must be approximately twice the rise-to-run ratio of the angleA1 as illustrated with reference to FIG. 11A. In other words, for thesame rise distance as illustrated in FIG. 11A, the angle A1 has a runthat is twice the size of the run of angle A2.

With reference to FIG. 12, the clamping lever assembly 24 will now bedescribed. The clamping lever assembly 24 includes a slide block 88supporting a pair of cam lever arms 90. Slide block 88 includes a pairof guide holes 92 disposed on opposite sides of a rod hole 94. Athreaded knob 96 is provided for engaging threaded rod 56 which extendsfrom the stationary assembly 16. Guide holes 92 are provided forreceiving the guide rods 54 therethrough. The cam lever arms 90 areprovided with a cam surface 98 which pivots about a pivot pin 100 whichis connected to the slide block 88. Each of the cam lever arms 90 isattached to a connecting pin 102 so that the cam lever arms 90 pivottogether about pivot pin 100.

The threaded knob 96 controls the position of the clamping leverassembly 24 relative to the stationary assembly 16. A compression spring(not shown) is provided between the stationary assembly 16 and thesliding clamp assembly 18. The spring keeps the sliding clamp assembly18 pushed against the clamping lever assembly 24. The clamping leverassembly 24 therefore controls the position of the sliding clampassembly 18.

After the drill guide assembly 20 is slid down and registered to thework piece W, and after the knobs 78 of the drill guide assembly 20 areturned to lock the position of the drill guide assembly relative to theposition of the sliding clamp assembly 18, the jig is ready for the userto clamp the work piece W. The threaded knob 96 on the clamping leverassembly 24 is turned to exert a clamping force on the work piece W.Because the knob 96 is threaded onto the threaded rod 56 that is fixedto the stationary assembly 16, this has the result of causing theclamping lever assembly 24 to slide closer to the stationary assembly16. This will push the sliding clamp assembly 18 closer to thestationary assembly 16, which will, in turn, push the drill guideassembly 20 closer to the stationary assembly 16. As the drill guideassembly 20 is already in contact with the work piece W, a clampingpressure on the work piece W is provided. In doing so, the drill guideassembly 20 moves and acts as the clamping surface.

Since the drill guide assembly 20 is already against the work piece W,the threaded knob 96 only has to be turned a little bit, as illustratedin FIG. 15, to generate the clamping pressure. Also, there is no longera trial and error method that involves clamping the work piece to testfor clamp pressure, unclamping the work piece to adjust the clamp pad,re-clamping the work piece to re-test the clamp pressure, etc. As bestshown in FIG. 13, the threaded knob 96 has a tab 104 that matches a tab106 on the slide block 88. This causes the knob 96 to be indexedrelative to the slide block 88 so that the knob 96 can only be rotatedback to its original location. The knob 96 needs to be in its originallocation (FIG. 14) when the drill guide assembly 20 needs to beregistered against a different thickness work piece W. Rotating the knob96 to its original location ensures the sliding clamp assembly 18 willalso be in a correct location for this registering process, whichensures that the screw 2 will continue to exit the work piece Wapproximately halfway to its thickness.

As shown in FIG. 16, the clamping lever assembly 24 is shown in theengaged position with the lever arm 90 extending downward and the camsurface 98 forcing the sliding clamp assembly 18 toward the engagedposition. When making pocket holes, a woodworker will usually haveseveral boards of the same thickness that need pocket holes 4 formed inthem. When the clamping lever assembly 24 is moved to the releasedposition, as shown in FIG. 17, by lifting the lever arms 90 to an upwardposition, the clamping pressure is also released, and clearance in thejig 10 is created for the work piece W to be easily removed from the jig10. The next work piece W is then able to be inserted against thestationary assembly 16, and the clamping lever assembly 24 is moved backto its activated position. When releasing and re-activating the clampinglever assembly 24, all the set-up positions of all the jig's parts areretained so that the jig 10 is still set up to make perfect pocket holes4 for the next work piece W.

With reference to FIG. 18, the collar stop assembly 22 will now bedescribed. The collar stop assembly 22 includes a stop plate 110provided with holes 112 through which the drill bit passes through. Thestop plate 110 is supported by a pair of guide rods 114 which are eachreceived in the guide holes 76 provided in the drill guide assembly 20.The drill collar stop assembly 22 is slidably attached to the drillguide assembly 20 via the guide rods 114. The holes 112 in the collarstop assembly 22 line up with the holes in the drill guide bushing 84.The pocket height is controlled when the drill's 29 stop collar 116(best shown in FIG. 20) contacts the collar stop assembly 22. When thedrill guide assembly 20 is moved up and down for different thicknessesof work piece, the collar stop assembly 22 does not move up and downwith it. Therefore, the stop collar on the drill bit no longer has tomoved up and down to compensate for the down and up movement of thedrill guide bushings 84 like current pocket hole jigs require.

The angle that the collar stop assembly 22 slides in relation to thedrill guide assembly is important. In order to keep the holes 112 of thestop collar assembly 22 aligned with the holes in the drill guidebushings 84, the sliding angle of the stop collar assembly 22 has to beapproximately the same as the angle of the drill guides 84. Another wayto phrase that is that the sliding action of the collar assembly 22 isapproximately parallel with the axis of the drill guide bushings 84.

With reference to FIG. 21, the height track assembly 26 will now bedescribed. The height track assembly 26 includes a slide block 120including a pair of curved ramps 122 provided in an upper surfacetherein. A height adjustment arm 124 extends from one end of the slideblock 120 and includes an adjustment guide pin 126 extending from an endthereof. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the height track assembly 26 isinserted through the height adjustment bridges 66 provided on the bottomof the sliding clamp assembly 18. The guide rods 114 of the collar stopassembly 22 extend through holes 76 in the drill guide assembly 20 andengage the upper surface of the height track assembly 26. In particular,the ends of the guide rods 114 engage the curved ramps 122 provided inthe slide block 120. The lateral placement of the height track assembly26 therefore determines the vertical position of the collar stopassembly 22, as illustrated in FIG. 22.

As illustrated in FIGS. 23 and 24, the adjustment guide pin 126 attachedto the height adjustment arm 124 engages the slot 82 in the height gauge80 attached to the drill guide assembly 20. As illustrated in FIG. 23,when a narrow work piece W is used, the height track assembly isautomatically positioned in the rightward position, as illustrated, withthe adjustment guide pin 126 disposed in an upward end of the slot 82.

As shown in FIG. 24, when a thicker work piece is utilized, the drillguide assembly 20 is raised to a higher position and the height trackassembly 26 is moved to a leftward position, as illustrated, so that theadjustment guide pin 126 is disposed at a lower end of guide slot 82.The movement of the height track assembly 26, as illustrated in FIGS. 23and 24, causes an automatic vertical adjustment of the collar stopassembly 22 for either a narrow or a thicker work piece. As illustratedin FIGS. 25 and 26, the height gauge 80 can be provided with a scaleeither integrally formed or attached to the gauge 80 in order toindicate to the user the correct screw length to be used for the workpiece thickness. As illustrated in FIG. 25, for a thinner work piece,the adjustment guide pin 126 is disposed at the upper end of the slot82, while for a thick work piece, the guide pin 126 is at the lower endof the slot 82. The scale provided along the length of the slot 82indicates to the user the screw length to be utilized for that workpiece. With current pocket hole jig designs, the user has to look on atable to determine the correct screw length to use with the woodthickness.

When pocket holes are made, a drilling operation is performed followedby a screwdriving operation. It can be cumbersome to be continuallyswitching the drill bit out of a drill chuck and replacing it with adriver bit. One solution to this is to use two drills, one to drill thehole and the other to drive the screw. However, that has the difficultyof carrying around two drills. The solution that is intended for the jig10 of the present disclosure is to use a rapid loading and unloadingsystem as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. Thus, as shown in FIG. 28, a pockethole drill is provided with a stepped shank portion to allow quickrelease of the drill bit.

It should be noted that the geometry and principles described herein canbe applied to a power tool, similar to a biscuit jointer. A biscuitjointer has a fence that registers it against the wood. The powered partof the biscuit jointer slides in relation to the fence. The tool ispowered on, and plugged into, the wood to cut the biscuit slot.Similarly, the geometry just described can be applied to the fence of apowered pocket hole cutter. The powered part of the tool would slidewith the same action that the drill bit slides into the drilling guidebushings. When powered on, the plunging action of the tool in relationto the fence would cut the pocket hole. This powered pocket hole cuttercould have two rotating shafts to cut two pocket holes in the same pass.The position of the two rotating shafts could be adjustable relative toeach other in order to vary the spacing of the pocket holes.

With reference to FIGS. 30-53, a pocket hole jig tool system accordingto an alternative embodiment will now be described. The pocket hole jig210 includes a base 214 and a drill guide assembly 216 mounted to thebase 214. The drill guide assembly 216 includes a drill guide support218 slidably mounted on the stationary base 214. A guide block 220 isslidably mounted to the drill guide support 218 and supports one or moredrill guide bushings 222, 224 that are adapted to engaged a workpiece W.

A stop collar assembly 226 is slidably mounted relative to the drillguide bushings 222, 224 and provides guide holes 228 for receiving drillbits 230 for drilling a pocket hole and pilot hole in a workpiece forreceiving a screw. A screw selector gauge 232 is provided on a sidesurface of the drill guide support 218 and an indicator 234 is movablealong the gauge 232 along with the guide block 220 in order to indicateto a user the size of screw to be utilized for the workpiece W insertedin the pocket hole jig 210.

With reference to FIGS. 30, 31, and 32, the drill guide support 218 isformed of two clamshell halves 218 a, 218 b which are fastened togetherby fasteners. The drill guide support 218 is slidably received on thebase 214. The drill guide support 218 includes interior slide surfaces235 for slidably receiving the guide block 220. The drill guide support218 also includes a rearwardly disposed clamp channel 236 which receivesa pivot pin 238 of a clamping handle 240 and a clamp pin 242 which isdisposed against a rigid clamp plate disposed at a forward end of theclamp channel 236, as best shown in FIG. 31. The pivot pin 238 ismounted to the base 214 and the clamp handle 240 is pivotally mounted tothe pivot pin 238, as shown in FIGS. 30, 31, and 47. The clamp pin 242engages the clamp plate 244 to press the drill guide support 218 towarda clamping position. When the clamp handle 240 is moved in an upwarddirection from the position shown in FIG. 31, the clamp pin 242 isretracted to allow the drill guide support 218 to move toward adisengaged position under the bias of return springs 246.

The base 214 includes a workpiece side support surface 250 and aworkpiece end support surface 252 which can be generally perpendicularto the side support surface 250. The base 214 can also be provided withone or more clamp surfaces 254 which can be utilized for clamping thebase 214 to a work top or other surface. In addition, mounting holes 256are provided that allow the base 214 to be mounted to a work station byscrews or bolts. The base 214 includes a bottom portion having a pair ofguide rails 258 which receive the drill guide support 218 therebetween.The pivot pin 238 of the clamp handle 240 is mounted to the guide rails258. As illustrated in FIG. 31, a dust collection adapter nozzle 260 isprovided in the base 214 for communicating with a space beneath thedrilling region so as to collect and remove saw dust created by thedrill 230. The drill support guide 218 includes guide pins which slideacross slide bushings on the base 214.

As illustrated in FIG. 33, the guide block 220 includes side surfaces270 which are slidably received within the drill guide support 218. Thesidewalls 270 are each provided with an aperture 272 therein. A pair ofcam spring housings 274 are slidably received within the openings 272and are capable of being pushed outward into engagement with theinternal slide surfaces 234 of the drill guide support 218. The camspring housings 274 are each attached to a poppet 276 and each include acam spring 278 disposed between the poppet 276 and an end portion of thecam spring housing 272. The poppets 276 are each engaged with a camsurface 280 which is connected to a rotatable handle shaft 282 which isconnected to a drill guide locking knob 284.

With reference to FIGS. 36 and 37, the cam surface 280 is illustrated oncam member 286. By rotating the drill guide locking knob 284, the handleshaft 282 rotates the cam 286 to cause the poppets 276 to ride up thecam surface 280 which cause the cam spring housings 274 to extendoutward from the openings 272 provided in the sidewalls 270 of the guideblock 220. As the cam spring housings 274 extend outward from theopenings 272, the housings 274 engage the slide surfaces 234 of thedrill guide support 218 so as to resist movement of the guide block 220relative to the drill guide support 218.

In addition to the side cam surface 280, the cam member 286 alsoincludes an end cam face 288 that engages an associated cam face 290 ofa spring disk 292. The spring disk 292 is disposed against a clampspring 294 which is disposed in a spring chamber 296 of a connectingyoke 298. The cam member 286 includes a shoulder portion 300 which isdisposed against a clamp plate 302 which is disposed against an interiorwall of the drill guide support 218. When the drill guide locking knob284 is rotated to cause rotation of the handle shaft 282, the cam member286 is rotated to cause the face cam 288 to rotate relative to the camface 290 on spring disk 292 which causes separation therebetween. Themovement of the spring disk 292 axially relative to the cam member 286causes the clamp spring 294 to compress and apply compression forcesagainst the clamp plate 302 which further provides resistance againstthe sliding motion of the guide block 220 relative to the drill guidesupport 218. A clamp return spring 304 is provided to reduce the clampforce when the drill guide locking knob 284 is rotated to the disengagedposition.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIGS. 58-59, the cam member 286′ of theguide block 220′ has a two piece construction in which intermediate cammember 286 a′ can include a shoulder portion 300′ which is disposedagainst the bearing support plate 302′ which is fastened to the guideblock 220′. A second cam member 286 b′ of the two piece construction isrotatably fixed to the intermediate cam member 286 a′ and includes a camface 288′ such that rotating against the cam face 290′ causes theshoulder portion 300′ to load against the bearing support plate 302′.The load from clamp spring 294′ is transferred through the back surfaceof guide block 220′ to the interior wall of the drill guide support 218.

The drill guide locking knob 284 is provided with an end cap 306 forclosing an end portion of the knob 284. The knob 284 is connected to thehandle shaft 282 by a C-ring 308, washer 310, and spring washer 311which secure the knob 284 to the shaft 282. The shaft 282 is providedwith a flat 312 which engages a corresponding flat surface of a hub ofthe knob 284 for non-rotatably mounting the knob 284 to the shaft 282.

The yoke 298 extending from guide block 220 is provided with an aperture314 for receiving a guide rod 316 of the stop collar assembly 226. Asbest shown in FIG. 38, the yoke 298 includes an aperture 320 forreceiving a support arm 322 that supports the drill guide bushings 222,224. In the embodiment shown, the drill guide bushing 224 is a fixedbushing and the bushing 222 is a movable bushing that is capable ofmoving along the length of the support arm 322. A locking mechanism 324is provided for adjustably moving the movable drill guide bushing 222along the support arm 322. Each drill guide bushing 222, 224 is providedwith an aperture therein that receives the support arm 322. The guidebushings 222, 224 also include a front surface 326 for engaging aworkpiece that is inserted in the pocket hole jig tool system 210. Eachbushing 222, 224 also includes a drill guide hole bushing 328 disposedtherein angularly relative to the contact surface 326 so as to supportthe drill 230 at an angled position for drilling the pocket hole andpilot hole in an angular orientation relative to the workpiece W.

The locking mechanism 324 includes a cam follower 330 as bestillustrated in FIGS. 39-42. The cam follower 330 includes a yoke endportion adapted to receive the support arm 322 therein while engaging amounting portion 334 of the movable drill guide bushing 222. The camfollower 330 also includes a pair of cantilevered arms 336 each having acam follower portion 338 protruding from an end portion thereof. Eachcam follower 338 engages a cam surface 340 disposed on an interior of alock knob 342 which is rotatably mounted relative to the cam follower330. The cam follower 330 includes a plurality of axially extendingfingers 344 which engage an interior shoulder 346 provided on theinterior of the lock knob 342, as best shown in FIGS. 41 and 44. Inorder to retain the cam follower 330 on the support shaft 322, a washer348 having a plurality of radially extending arms 350 is secured to theend of the support shaft 322 by a fastener 352. The arms 350 aredisposed between the fingers 344 of the cam follower 330 and prevent thecam follower 330 from being removed from the support shaft 322 bybottoming out against the web portion 354 provided at the proximal endof the fingers 344, as best illustrated in FIG. 46. In the disengagedposition of the lock knob 342, the cam followers 338 are disposed at thehighest portion of the cam surface 340 so that the cam follower 330 isfree to slide along the support shaft 322. Upon rotation of the lockknob 342 in the counter-clockwise direction as illustrated in FIG. 42,the cam followers 338 are compressed radially inward by the reduceddiameter of the cam surface 340 to cause the cantilevered arms 336 tocompress against the support shaft 322 and lock the cam follower 330 ina fixed position along the support shaft 322. The cam surface 340 can beprovided with a raised detent portion 356 as illustrated in FIGS. 42 and43 to hold the lock knob 342 in its engaged position.

With reference to FIGS. 48-51, the stop collar assembly 226 will now bedescribed. The stop collar assembly 226 includes a drill collar stopplate 360 that is slidably supported by the guide rod 316 as illustratedin FIG. 30. The stop plate 360 includes a pair of cam followers 362extending generally parallel to the guide rod 316 and engage a camprofile 364 of a cam/arm assembly 366. The cam/arm assembly 366 includesa pivot pin 368 received in pivot holes 370 provided on the drill guidesupport 218, best shown in FIGS. 30 and 32. A lower arm 371 extendsdownward from the pivot pin 368 and is adapted to engage against theworkpiece W as illustrated in FIG. 48. The arm 371 is biased by atorsion spring 372 as illustrated in FIG. 49 in a direction away fromthe workpiece W. When the drill collar stop plate 360 is pressed down bythe user, the cam followers 362 press on the cam profile 364 causing thecam/arm assembly 366 to pivot so that arm 371 engages the workpiece W.The position of the cam/arm assembly 366 automatically establishes thedrill depth of drill 230 by automatically adjusting the height of thecollar stop plate 360 dependent upon the position of the cam profile 364which is, in turn, dependent upon the thickness of the workpiece W.Thus, with the stop collar assembly 226 according to the principles ofthe present disclosure, the drill collar stop plate 260 is automaticallyadjusted to an appropriate height for use with different thicknessworkpieces so that the pocket hole is drilled to an appropriate depth ina workpiece such that the screw inserted therein would exit theapproximate center of the workpiece, as desired.

The stop collar assembly 226 resolves the issue of having to repeatedlyadjust the position of the drill collar 374 for different woodthicknesses. With reference to FIG. 52, since the collar 374 isadjustable along the length of the drill 230, it is required that thecollar 374 be properly positioned along the drill 230 in order for thestop collar assembly to function properly. In particular, as illustratedin FIG. 52, the dimension “A” as illustrated determines the depth of thecountersink of the pocket hole for the screw head to contact. Thedimension “B” determines the depth of the pilot hole drilled for thescrew to pass. By adjusting the set screw 376 on the collar 374, thecollar 374 can be moved along the drill 230. As illustrated in FIG. 53,the tool 210 can be provided with a drill collar calibration feature 380which includes a bore 382 with a stop shoulder 383 for receiving acutting end 384 of a drill 230 and a collar stop feature 386 againstwhich a user can place the collar 374 and secure the set screw 376 forensuring that the collar stop 374 is secured in the correct location onthe drill 230. These features are incorporated in the base 214 of thetool 210. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 56, the drill collarcalibration feature 380′ can be incorporated into the drill guidesupport 218′.

As illustrated in FIG. 52A, the collar 374 can be provided with aninternal chamfer 375 on each side. The chamfer acts to interlock with aninvertedly flared stop feature 386 which is received against thechamfered surface 375, as illustrated in FIG. 53.

With reference to FIG. 54, the base 214′ can also be provided withstorage for additional drills, screwdriver bits 385 and an Allen wrench387 which can be utilized for adjustment of the set screws 376 providedin the collars 374. Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 54, storagefeatures 390 can also be incorporated into the drill guide support 218′as shown. In FIG. 54, the drill storage features 390 are shown includinga closed loop design for securing the drills in place. FIG. 55illustrates that the capability of tooling these features in a plasticmolded housing can be provided by creating undercuts in the tooling. Thesolution involves pulling the undercut surfaces from the inside of thehousing by creating a window or hole in the housings just in the area ofthe undercut so that the interior of the closed loop portions can beformed by mold features that are pulled in the inward direction “I”while the outside surface geometry is formed by mold features that arepulled in the outward direction “O.” As illustrated in FIG. 57, the toolstorage features can also include snap-fit raised areas 392 for securingthe drills in place. The problem of forming the snap-fit features canalso be solved by providing undercut surfaces from the inside of thehousing by creating a window or hole in the housing just in the area ofthe undercut so that the snap-fit features can be formed from theinterior of the mold.

1. A pocket hole jig tool, comprising: a base including a work-pieceside support surface and a work-piece end support surface; a drill guidesupport slidably mounted to said base and adapted for movement towardand away from said work-piece side support surface of said base; atleast one drill guide bushing movably mounted relative to said drillguide support and a drill guide locking mechanism selectively engageableto fixably mount said at least one guide bushing relative to said drillguide support; a stop collar assembly adjustably mounted relative tosaid at least one drill guide bushing, said stop collar assemblyincluding at least one support arm engaging a cam surface, said camsurface being positioned relative to said at least one support armdependent upon a thickness of a work-piece inserted in said pocket holejig tool; and a dust collection vacuum nozzle mounted to said base.
 2. Apocket hole jig tool, comprising: a base including a work-piece sidesupport surface and a work-piece end support surface; a drill guidesupport slidably mounted to said base and adapted for movement towardand away from said work-piece side support surface of said base; atleast one drill guide bushing movably mounted relative to said drillguide support and a drill guide locking mechanism selectively engageableto fixably mount said at least one guide bushing relative to said drillguide support; a stop collar assembly adjustably mounted relative tosaid at least one drill guide bushing; and a dust collection vacuumnozzle mounted to said base.
 3. A drill bit assembly comprising: anelongated drill bit having a cutting tip; and a collar having a centralaperture for receiving said drill bit, said central aperture having achamfered inner diameter at a distal end of said collar.